The concept for ‘In The Know’ was conceived by Sean Frayne during his time as a peer educator with BeLonG To Youth Services in 2014. It was designed as a personal development course for GB (Gay, Bisexual) and MSM (men who have sex with men) funded by the Gay Men’s Health Network.  

In a collaboration between BeLonG To, the Sexual Health Centre and the HSE Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) in 2019, the course was further developed into a manual and facilitator training programme with HSE funding. This enabled ‘In The Know’ to be accessed nationally by youth workers and sexual health workers to develop capacity in supporting gbMSM. 

In 2020, Muire O Farrell and Phil Corcoran from the Sexual Health Centre, with the support of a steering group from BeLonG To, the Sexual Health Centre and the HSE Sexual Health Crisis Pregnancy Programme (SHCPP) developed an online training platform for ‘In The Know’. This was underpinned by research on best practice in relation to the delivery of online training and learning to make the platform as user friendly as possible. The ‘In The Know’ online training is a certified programme, that prepares users to deliver workshops to gbMSM groups. 

The In the Know programme is designed for delivery to young gbMSM over the age of sexual consent. Many of the activities could be adapted for use with a younger audience with appropriate developmental and legal considerations and in line with relevant professional and organisational practice and policy.